Hershey, PA – Sept. 1, 2016 – William R. Parks is proud to announce the publication of Gerry Rising’s latest book, “Birds and Birdwatchers.” Dr. Rising, a nationally recognized educator and writer, is SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus at the University at Buffalo.

This miscellany of essays has something for everyone: birding neophyte to professional ornithologist. The Table of Contents suggests how wide-ranging the subjects are: from Audubon and Wilson to Peterson and Sibley, from Baghdad to Buffalo via Mexico, from gnatcatchers to snowy owls and from sumac storehouses to wind turbines. But the real gems reside within the essays themselves: Ben Franklin's letter about the turkey and the eagle, the British fleet confronting a loon, a raven outsmarting the author, an assortment of names for bird groups. Read an essay selected at random and you will surely find something of special interest.

A recreational birdwatcher for 80 years, Rising brings that experience to the informal essays in this book, many of which appeared during his 25-year tenure as weekly “Nature Watch” columnist for the Buffalo News. He also served as editor of the New York State ornithological journal, The Kingbird, and contributed species accounts to Bull's Birds of New York.

Rising has said that this book is one he wished he had over his lifetime as a birdwatcher and he believes that, once you delve into it, you will feel rewarded. Publisher Bill Parks adds, “Rarely will you find this range of information in a single resource.”